Apology over ‘halal’ black pudding on sale in Aldi

A supermarket chain has apologised after a black pudding product was incorrectly labelled as halal-certified.

Muslim customers at Aldi were left fuming by the blunder that saw supposedly halal black pudding being sold containing pork blood and skins, the Mirror reported. Pork is forbidden in Islam.

The newspaper quoted Manahil Khan as saying: “This is absolutely outrageous and I am deeply offended by this.

“I am pretty sure many others of the Muslim community are also very offended by this.

“It is demoralising and goes against one’s religious morals and scripture.... and I speak on behalf of every Muslim and human that does not deserve to be misled by any sort of false claim of halal food or lies about what we consume.”

Manufacturer Punjab Pakora, based in Ayr, apologised for the incident, saying it was a printing mistake which had now been rectified, as did Aldi.

Punjab Pakora directors Kushal and Vinita Duggal put a statement on the company’s website which said: “We are issuing a notice about the recent discovery of halal being advertised on the black pudding sleeve as being a printing mistake, and have rectified the issue immediately, we sincerely apologise to the public who have been affected by this mistake and would like to thank everyone who brought this error to our attention.”

An Aldi spokesman said: “Regarding the Punjab Pakora Black Pudding Pakora (supplied by Punjab Pakora), we have now investigated this matter with the supplier, who has advised that the packaging was incorrectly labelled as halal-certified and the problem is currently being rectified. This product was only on sale in Scotland and has now been recalled.

“We apologise for any confusion caused by this unfortunate, isolated matter. While this is not a food safety or legal compliance issue, any customers who are not satisfied are welcome to return their purchase to store for a full refund.

“As a responsible retailer, we are committed to ensuring that the animals used for our products are reared and slaughtered to the relevant industry standards covering animal welfare.”